Brewing device for a machine for preparing beverages, in particular coffee or tea

Abstract

The present disclosure is for an electronic control system for a brewing device for a machine for preparing beverages, in particular coffee or tea. The brewing device comprises a brewing chamber having an opening through which a material to be brewed may be loaded and discharged; a closing body movable away from and towards a sealed closing position of the opening angularly spaced apart from the closing position, through an intermediate ejection position, in which the closing body is raised with respect to the closing position along the longitudinal axis of the brewing chamber; a piston slidably mounted in the brewing chamber in a position axially opposite the closing body; a first electric actuating device for the movement of the closing body; and a second electric actuating device for the movement of the piston. The electronic control system is configured to be arrangeable in the brewing device and comprises a sensory system configured to output electrical signals to allow the reaching, by the closing body, of the opening, closing and ejection positions to be sensed, and the axial position of the piston in the brewing chamber to be determined, and an on-board electronic control unit configured to be connectable to the sensory system to receive electrical signals therefrom, to the first and second electric actuating device to supply electrical control signals thereto, and to an electronic control unit of the beverage preparation machine external to the brewing device to receive therefrom commands relating to the operation of the brewing device. The on-board electronic control unit is further configured to execute commands received from the external control unit to responsively output, also based on the electrical signals received from the sensory system, electrical control signals for the electric actuating devices.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A combination of an electronic machine control unit and an electronic brewer control system for a beverage preparation machine; wherein the beverage preparation machine comprises a brewing device including: a brewing chamber configured to receive a material to be brewed; one or more members arranged to cooperate with the brewing chamber to prepare beverages; and one or more electric actuators operable to mutually move the members and the brewing chamber to prepare beverages; wherein the electronic machine control unit is external to the brewing device, and the electronic brewer control system is configured to be associable to the brewing device to allow operation of the brewing device to be electronically controlled; the electronic brewing control system comprises: a sensory system configured to output electrical signals to allow relative position of one or more of the members and of the brewing chamber to be determined during a beverage preparation cycle; and an on-board electronic brewer control unit separate from the electronic machine control unit and configured to be electrically connectable to the electronic machine control unit through a fieldbus-based communication network, the on-board electronic brewer control unit being connected to the sensory system to receive electrical output signals therefrom, and to the electric actuator(s) to supply electrical control signals thereto; wherein the electronic machine control unit is configured to output to the on-board electronic brewer control unit, through the fieldbus-based communication network, commands relating to the operation of the brewing device; wherein the on-board electronic brewer control unit is configured to: receive from the electronic machine control unit, through the fieldbus-based communication network, commands relating to the operation of the brewing device; and interpret and execute the received commands to responsively output, also based on electrical signals from the sensory system, electrical control signals for the electric actuator(s); wherein the electronic brewer and machine control units are configured to cooperate through a master-slave communication architecture, in which the on-board electronic brewer control unit is the slave electronic control unit, and the electronic machine control unit is the master electronic control unit. 
     
     
       2. The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic brewer control system further comprises an electronic brewer control printed circuit board configured to be arrangeable in the brewing device, and comprising: the on-board electronic brewer control unit;
 an input interface for connection to the sensory system, one or more output interfaces for connection to the electric actuator(s), an electric power supply interface for connection to an external electric power supply, and an input/output communication interface for connection to the fieldbus-based communication network, which interfaces are all connected to the electronic brewer control unit; and a driver stage configured to receive electrical control signals, to responsively output, based on the received electrical control signals, electrical drive signals for the electric actuator device(s), and to measure and output data indicative of an electric current absorbed by the electric actuator device. 
 
     
     
       3. The combination of  claim 2 , wherein the sensory system comprises one or more electronic sensor printed circuit boards configured to be arrangeable in the brewing device, separate from and connected to the electronic brewer control printed circuit board, and on each one of which one or more sensors are mounted. 
     
     
       4. The combination of  claim 3 , wherein the sensory system comprises one or more Hall effect sensors, each arranged in the brewing device to output a digital electrical signal switching between first and second logic levels depending on whether a magnetic element carried by a moving member of the brewing device is present in the proximity of the Hall effect sensor; and wherein each Hall effect sensor is calibratable to allow a degree of proximity of the magnetic element to the Hall effect sensor at which the digital electrical signal switches between the first and the second logic levels to be adjustable. 
     
     
       5. The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the fieldbus-based communication network is a Controller Area Network (CAN). 
     
     
       6. A beverage preparation machine comprising a brewing device including a brewing chamber configured to receive a material to be brewed, one or more members arranged to cooperate with the brewing chamber to prepare beverages, and one or more electric actuators operable to mutually move the members and the brewing chamber to prepare beverages; wherein the beverage preparation machine further comprises the combination of the electronic machine control unit and the electronic brewer control system of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       7. The brewing device of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic machine control unit comprises a circuit board that is free of a user interface thereon. 
     
     
       8. A brewing device for a beverage preparation machine, comprising:
 a brewing chamber having a longitudinal axis and an opening through which a material to be brewed may be loaded and discharged; a closing body movable between a sealed closing position, in which the closing body sealingly closes the opening, and an open position, angularly spaced apart from the closing position, through an intermediate ejection position, in which the closing body is raised relative to the closing position along the longitudinal axis; a piston slidingly mounted in the brewing chamber axially opposite the closing body; a first electric actuator to move the closing body; a second electric actuator to move the piston; and 
 an electronic brewer control system configured to allow operation of the brewing device to be electronically controlled; wherein the electronic brewing control system comprises: a sensory system configured to output electrical signals to allow relative position of one or more of the members and of the brewing chamber to be determined during a beverage preparation cycle; 
 and an on-board electronic control unit separate from an electronic machine control unit of the beverage preparation machine, which is external to the brewing device and is configured to control operation of the beverage preparation machine; wherein the on-board electronic control unit is configured to be electrically connectable to the electronic machine control unit through a fieldbus-based communication network, to the sensory system to receive electrical output signals therefrom, and to the electric actuator(s) to supply electrical control signals thereto; 
 wherein the on-board electronic control unit is further configured to: receive from the electronic machine control unit, through the fieldbus-based communication network, commands relating to the operation of the brewing device; and interpret and execute the received commands to responsively output, also based on electrical signals from the sensory system, electrical control signals for the electric actuator(s). 
 
     
     
       9. The brewing device of  claim 8 , wherein the sensory system comprises: a first Hall effect sensor arranged in the brewing device to output an electrical signal indicative of the passage, in the proximity of the first Hall effect sensor, of first and second magnetic elements mounted on a toothed wheel of a gear drive of the first electric actuator, in respective angular positions corresponding one to the opening and closing positions, and the other one to the ejection position of the closing body; wherein the second and third Hall effect sensors are arranged in the brewing device to output electrical signals indicative of the passage, in the proximity of the second and third Hall effect sensors, of a third magnetic element carried by the closing body in a position such as to result in the third magnetic element being in the proximity of the second Hall effect sensor when the closing body is in the ejection position, and of the third Hall effect sensor when the closing body is in the closing position, and a position sensor coupled to the second electric actuator to output an electrical position signal indicative of the axial position of the piston in the brewing chamber.